Shloka 4
संजयने कहा--राजन्! सुनिये। नरेश्वर! उस भारी संकटमें पड़ जानेपर टूटी जाँघवाले राजा दुर्योधनने जो कुछ कहा था, वह सब वृत्तान्त यथार्थरूपसे बता रहा हूँ ।।
sañjaya uvāca—rājan śṛṇu. nareśvara! tasmin mahati saṅkaṭe patite bhagnasaktho nṛpo duryodhanaḥ yad avadat tat sarvaṃ vṛttāntaṃ yathārthataḥ kathayiṣyāmi. bhagnasaktho nṛpo rājan pāṃsunā soḍhavagūṇṭhitaḥ | yamayan mūrdhajāṃs tatra vīkṣya caiva diśo daśa garhayan pāṇḍavaṃ jyeṣṭhaṃ niḥśvasped athābravīt ||
Sañjaya sprach: „O König, höre. O Herr der Menschen, in jenes schwere Unheil geraten, sprach König Duryodhana—dessen Schenkel zerschmettert waren—gewisse Worte; ich will den ganzen Bericht wahrheitsgetreu wiedergeben. Mit gebrochenen Schenkeln lag der König am Boden, von Staub bedeckt. Er raffte sein wirres Haar zusammen und blickte in alle zehn Himmelsrichtungen. Dann, den Ältesten der Pāṇḍavas schmähend, stieß er einen bitteren Seufzer aus und begann zu sprechen—sein Atem war rau, sein Geist von Zorn und Erniedrigung entflammt.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical aftermath of war: even a king’s power collapses into vulnerability, and unresolved pride turns into blame and bitterness. Sañjaya’s insistence on truthful reporting underscores a dharmic ideal—facing events as they are—while Duryodhana’s reviling of the righteous points to how adharma culminates in humiliation and resentment rather than clarity.
After the mace-fight, Duryodhana lies on the ground with shattered thighs, covered in dust. He gathers his hair, looks in all directions, sighs heavily, and begins speaking while censuring the eldest Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira). Sañjaya narrates these details to Dhṛtarāṣṭra as part of his eyewitness-style report.